In the music video for indietronica artist Hien’s ‘Boy,’ a classical romantic narrative unfolds. Within a modern Hanoian setting, two lovers battle against themselves, their peers and society as a whole.
Right from its opening scenes, Hien’s video hoodwinks you. Gang violence, masculinity and gambling dominate, all set against the blue-filtered backdrop of hard-working motorbike mechanics. Hien’s lyrics, rather than the video, give the first clues of the upcoming twist:
We don’t need to fall for one another babe
So let’s keep playing
Wrap your arms around me and hold me
The lines, arguably deliberately clichéd, belie their significance until the video progresses and its true themes emerge. Have a look below (spoilers later):
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Budapest-born Hien currently studies in America. She held a performance in Saigon last year and hopes to revisit the country again this year.
After originally planning to shoot the video in Madrid, producer Pham Hamy proposed Hanoi, as they realized Vietnamese aesthetics gelled seamlessly with the song and director Humberto Besa’s vision for the video.
In an email to Saigoneer, Hien delved into the video’s core LGBT focus and shared people’s reactions so far:
“I’m very grateful to have had this opportunity to highlight the LGBT narrative in my country, Vietnam, where a lot of LGBT people have to hide their true nature from society. Since the video has been released, the general response has been very positive, but of course, I’ve gotten some homophobic comments as well. The majority of my audience shares my sentiment, however, that a gay couple’s love story is just as beautiful and interesting as any other. This gives me a lot of hope.”
